Miracle
by FullMoonOcean
Summary: (Set at the end of the movie) Charlie appears to be on a one-track course to a mindless death. But there may be one thing that can save him. Alice Kinnian.


**I read the book, then saw the movie and decided that it didn't have to end like that. This uses parts of the book and the movie combined. Enjoy!**

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Alice walked into the clearing and saw Charlie, still in a suit, on the see-saw with a bunch of children. Her heart broke, knowing how hard it must have been for him. And how hard it was for her. Dr's Strauss and Nemur felt equally guilty. He looked up, as if he could feel her eyes, and he smiled. He got up off the see-saw, much to the protest of the kids. He moved toward her at a pace between a jog and a walk.

"Hullo, Miss Kinnian." He said, smiling.

She simply said, "Walk with me, Charlie."

When she turned and started to walk back into the park the way she had come, he followed at her right side. Less of the bold, intelligent man, he resembled a puppy now.

"Charlie, how much do you remember."

He scratched his head before saying, "I remember that was stupid, then smart. Then I remember being upset a lot. I remember Dr Strauss and Dr Nemur, and Algernon." As he said the name of the mouse who had been his companion, a shadow of sadness crossed his eyes. Just as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

"Anything else?" She asked, hoping to see some sign that he remembered what he had with her only a few weeks ago.

"Not really. Mr. Donnegan gave me my old janitor job back!" He said gleefully.

She plastered a fake smile on her face, not wanting to upset him. "That's good, Charlie." After a few minutes of walking in silence, she said, "Charlie, I have to go now. I love you." Without really knowing why, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Tears started welling in her eyes as she turned away and began to walk in the direction of the road, hoping there was an available taxi she could quickly catch.

She had every intention of going back to her apartment and drowning her sorrows of her loss with every drop of liquor until a very much aware voice called out.

"Alice?"

She spun around, her brunette hair flying, as that voice, the voice Charlie had had when was at the peak of his intelligence called out her first name. A name he didn't use until he made his feeling known.

He looked shocked, for lack of a better word. He was staring at her, like he had just woken up from a very unpleasant dream.

She ran back to him and put a hand on his face, unconciously checking for any signs of illness, damage. His arms suddenly wrapped around her back, hugging her to him. She felt him bury his face in her hair.

"Oh, Alice, you did it!" His voice was relieved and joyous.

"What did I do, Charlie?" she asked. She so badly had missed speaking with him.

"You kissed me. You brought back the emotions I had felt. Before my state of mind worsened. Along with those emotions came everything else. If my calculations are correct, I won't suffer the same fate as Algernon did. You saved me, and in more ways than one." He spoke the words quietly, but they may as well have been shouted. She could only focus on his voice, like it was her lifeline.

They stood like that for a while, just holding each other, his hand slowly stroking her hair.

Then his words caught in her mind.

"Charlie, what do you mean 'in more ways than one'?"

He pulled away and they sat on a nearby bench. He waited a few seconds before answering.

"If my mental state had progressed, or rather degressed, any further, I would have died. Not enough of my brain would be used to keep me alive. I would have died the same way a little white mouse in a metal cage did. So you see, you not only restored my mental capacity. You saved my life."

She was shocked. The doctors hadn't told her this! But he was here... She decided it was best not to dwell. Not when more important things were at hand.

"Will you tell Dr's Strauss and Nemur?" She asked him.

He tipped his head to the side and thought for a while. "No." he finally answered. "If they find out, that's fine. But if I tell them, they may try to recreate this. They have no way of testing this solution on laboratory mice, they have too little a range of emotion, and I can't imagine that they would try it on another human. That person might not experience an emotion as strong as this, and without their comprehension, they may not be able to find that again. Short of skydiving, but the recreation would be just throwing a man or woman out of a helicoptor or airplane. If it were not successful, they would be sending someone falling to their death."

She nodded. She had thought as much.

"What emotion do you keep referring to, Charlie?"

He turned his head to gaze into her face gently. "Love, Alice. I feel love."


End file.
